Method and system for managing digital sheets

ABSTRACT

The claimed invention enables digital asset management that is responsive to a user&#39;s interactions with digital assets. Based on the user&#39;s interaction, the invention generates a ranking of the digital assets that is intended to reflect the value of the digital assets to the user. The ranking is based in part on the access frequency and recency, and the number and types of uses of the digital assets. An access hierarchy is derived from the ranking that stores the digital assets so that the higher ranked digital assets are more easily accessed than the lower ranked digital assets.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/488,151 filed on Jun. 4, 2012 which is a Continuation of and claimspriority to U.S. application Ser. No. 12/371,770, filed 16 Feb. 2009,which is a Continuation of and claims priority to U.S. application Ser.No. 11/428,350, filed 30 Jun. 2006, which issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,526,728 on 28 Apr. 2009, which is a Continuation of and claimspriority to U.S. application Ser. No. 10/631,343, filed 30 Jul. 2003,which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,082,573 on 25 Jul. 2006, which are eachincorporated are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of data storage and management. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a method and system for managingdigital assets.

2. Description of the Prior Art

During the ordinary course of downloading, saving, and retrievingdigital data on a device such as a personal computer, a user isregularly faced with the challenge of how to store newly acquired datain such a manner that the user can most effectively access such data inthe future. Over time, as the user progressively accumulates more dataon the computer, the difficulty in organizing data storage can becomeincreasingly acute.

For example, a user may have a collection of digital images stored onthe computer. If the user organizes the images into a separate folderdevoted exclusively to digital photographs and other images the usereliminates the aggravation of having to sort through music files or textfiles to find a desired digital image. However, as the collection ofimages grows it becomes increasingly burdensome to organize the storageof files in such a manner that the user can quickly and efficientlyaccess images of interest.

One storage strategy the user might employ is to create foldersorganized according to user-assigned criteria, such as by source, date,or subject matter. One benefit of this approach is that the organizationmakes sense to the user because he dictated the underlying criteria. Onedownside, however, is that creating and maintaining folders in thismanner is a labor-intensive practice. Furthermore, as the number ofdifferent folders increases, the organizational complexity can hinderthe rapid acquisition of a desired image. This organizational strategyis also relatively inflexible. If the user decides to change theorganizational criteria for the folders, then all of the originalorganizational efforts must be duplicated using new criteria.

Another storage strategy is to organize all of the digital images bydate of creation. Storage by date of creation can be accomplishedautomatically without requiring the user to organize the storagemanually. Furthermore, no matter how many images are stored, theorganization of the stored images is relatively simple. However, as thenumber of images grows, it becomes increasingly laborious for the userto access a desired image, especially if the user cannot recall itscreation date. Also, the date of creation might not have any correlationto the value or desirability of an image to the user.

What is needed is a method and a system for managing digital assets thatreflects the subjective worth of the digital assets to the userautomatically, based on the user's manipulation of the digital assets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment of the invention, a method and a system are providedfor managing digital assets based on a user's pattern of interactionwith the digital assets. The user's interaction with the digital assetsis monitored to track the extent of use and the specific types of use ofthe digital assets, which are stored in memory. A ranking module ranksthe digital assets based on the nature and extent of the user'sinteractions with the digital assets. An access hierarchy is createdbased on the ranking so that digital assets more highly ranked arestored in memory in such a manner that they are more easily accessedthan lower ranked digital assets. The ranking can be based on, forexample, the types of uses made, and the frequency, recency and numberof uses made of the digital assets. The different types of usesconsidered in ranking the digital assets include, but are not limited topassive playback or viewing, file sharing, transport, and editing.Additionally, the user can assign a value to each digital asset thatrepresents the subjective worth of each digital asset to the user. Thesevalues can be factored in to rank the digital assets.

In one embodiment the invention, a technique is provided for dampeningvolatility when re-ranking of digital assets. In this embodiment, scoresare assigned to the digital assets based on the usage pattern for eachdigital asset. Subsequently, the digital assets are re-ranked only ifthe score of one of the digital assets exceeds the score of anotherpreviously higher ranked digital asset by a predetermined threshold.Optionally, the user can set the threshold according to the user'ssubjective tolerance for volatility.

In another embodiment, the invention is used to manage digital images.Ranking of the digital images can be performed to distinguish thedifferent types of user manipulations. For example, different scores canbe assigned for viewing, sharing, editing, and transporting (importingor exporting) digital images.

Another embodiment of the invention manages digital audio files. Rankingof the digital audio files can also be performed to distinguishdifferent types of user manipulations so that different scores can beassigned for playback, sharing, transporting, or editing of an audiofile.

Another embodiment of the invention manages Uniform Resource Locators(URL). One aspect of this embodiment enables the user to access multipledevices on a network by storing the navigation history of a Web browsingsession at a location that is accessible to each of the network devices.When the user initiates a second Web browsing session on a networkdevice other than the one used during the first session, the navigationhistory for the first session is downloaded to the second networkdevice. Storing the navigation history at a network-wide accessiblelocation enables the use of the access hierarchy from multiple locationson the network.

One advantage of the invention lies in its ability to react to a user'schanging preferences with regard to the digital assets over time, asidentified by the user's changing patterns of use and access of thosedigital assets. For example, as the user begins to access a digitalasset more frequently, that digital asset is stored so as to enable moreefficient access to that digital asset.

Another advantage of the invention is that it can be economicallyimplemented because the monitoring and ranking of the digital assets canbe accomplished without the need for substantial processingrequirements.

Another advantage of the invention is that the re-ranking of digitalassets can be performed to modulate the volatility in the ranking of thedigital assets in the access hierarchy.

Another advantage of the invention is that the user is able to obtainthe benefits of the access hierarchy from any number of devices on acomputer network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a computer network within which theinvention may be practiced;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the invention showingcomponents of a device connected to the network illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the method for managing digitalassets according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for managing URL's in anavigation history according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of anembodiment of the invention for managing digital images;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of anembodiment of the invention for managing URL's in a web navigationhistory; and

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a preferred embodiment of theinvention for managing URL's in a web navigation history.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the invention operates in the environment of acomputer network to facilitate the management of digital assets in amanner that is responsive to a user's interactions with the digitalassets. As shown in FIG. 1, first, second, and third computers 10, 12,and 14 are interconnected via a server/router 16. Any number ofdifferent network devices can be substituted for the personal computers,including CD, MP3, and DVD players and the like. A router can besubstituted for the server/router 16 as well. The server/router isconnected to a publicly accessible network, such as the Internet 18.

With reference to FIG. 2, the components of the presently preferredsystem for managing digital assets comprise a memory 20 that is used tostore digital assets 22. The memory can be any of a number of well-knowntypes of memory, including magnetic media, random access memory (RAM),optical media, or the like. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, thememory 20 can be resident in one of the personal computers 10-14, it canbe located on the server/router 16, or it can be distributed amongst thedifferent networked devices. In the preferred embodiment, the memory iscommonly accessible to multiple networked devices. For example, if thememory 20 is resident on the first personal computer 10, it is preferredthat second and third computers, 12 and 14 also have access to thememory 20.

Digital assets 22 are stored in the memory 20. Digital assets in thecontext of the invention include, but are not limited to, UniformResource Locators (URL), and digital, audio, or text files. A processor24 is provided for accessing and manipulating the digital assets 22. Thefunction of the processor can be provided by hardware, software, or acombination of both. A user interface 26 is provided to enable a user toaccess and manipulate the digital assets. The user interface can includea keyboard, mouse, or like device. The different types of usermanipulations of the digital assets possible with the invention include,but are not limited to viewing, editing, or transport of digital imagefiles or digital audio files. Additional user manipulations includeactivation, sharing, or transport of URL's, i.e. by sending a linkattached in an email. An audio output 30, such as a set of audiospeakers, and a visual output 28, such as a monitor screen, are providedto present digital audio and image files to the user.

FIG. 3 illustrates the generic process flow for a method for managingdigital assets according to the invention. The method includes the step32 of monitoring the user's manipulation of the digital assets 22. Thisstep includes identifying the specific type of manipulation performedwhen the user accesses a digital asset. For example, step 22 preferablydifferentiates between editing, sharing, transporting (sending orreceiving over the network), and passive viewing of a file. In step 34 arecord is made of the specific types of use made for each digital asset.By making this record, it is possible to identify which digital assetsare most frequently accessed and/or manipulated by the user.

In step 36, the digital assets are ranked based, at least in part, onthe usage record made in step 34. The ranking takes into account thefrequency, recency, and number of uses for each digital asset. In apreferred embodiment, the ranking step 36 also includes referencing atable of user values assigned to the different digital assets. Theuser-assigned value reflects the subjective worth of a digital asset tothe user. For example, if the user has a favorite digital asset, theuser assigns a high user value to it to ensure that asset is easy toaccess, even if the user infrequently accesses it.

In a preferred embodiment step, the 36 also takes into account what typeof user manipulations have been performed on the digital assets. Thisincludes referencing a table of values assigned to the different usermanipulations of the digital assets. This set of user-manipulationvalues reflects the relative importance of the differentuser-manipulations. For example, for digital images, editing might beassigned a higher value than simply viewing a digital image. The rankingstep thus takes into account the frequency, recency, number of uses,types of uses, and the user assigned values for each to generate a scorefor each of the digital assets.

In step 38, the digital assets are stored in memory 20 based on theranking generated in step 36. That is, an access hierarchy is created inwhich those digital assets that are most highly ranked are stored sothat they are more readily accessed from memory 20 than those digitalassets that are lower ranked. In this manner, the method automaticallyresponds to digital asset usage patterns by storing the digital assetswith the overall highest value so they are most easily accessed. Steps36 and 38 can be performed periodically while the user is working in anapplication that uses the digital assets. Alternatively, these steps canbe performed at the end of a user session in the application. As will bediscussed more fully below, in some embodiments it is desirable to storethe ranking information at a commonly accessible location on the networkso that the user can efficiently access the highest value digital assetsregardless of which device the user employs. In step 40, the processcontinues to monitor the use of digital assets.

One potential drawback to ranking the digital assets is that the rankingmight become overly volatile. Excessive volatility would result indramatic reshuffling of the ranking that does not necessarily correspondto the real value of the digital assets to the user. One measure thatcan partially counteract such volatility is the user-assigned valueprovided for each of the digital assets. A high user assigned valueprovided for a digital asset infrequently accessed, but highly valued bythe user, can help to maintain a relatively high ranking, for suchdigital asset even in the absence of much use.

Another volatility dampening measure is provided by step 42. In theprocess of generating the ranking, a score is assigned to each digitalasset based on the user-assigned value and usage of the digital assets,e.g. recency, frequency, total number of uses, and types of usage. Step42 queries whether the score of any digital asset exceeds the score ofanother previously higher ranked digital asset by a predeterminedthreshold. If not, the ranking is left unchanged and the process returnsto the monitoring at step 40. Only if the threshold is exceeded does theprocess move to storing the assets at step 38 based on the re-ranking ofthe assets at step 42. In a preferred embodiment, the threshold can beadjusted by the user according to the level of volatility acceptable tothe user, e.g. by a user operated control in the system user interface,or it may be automatic/applied based upon a fixed value embedded in thesystem.

Management of Digital Image and Audio Files

In one embodiment, the digital asset management invention is used tomanage digital files, such as digital image or audio files. Step 44allows the user to configure the digital asset management systemaccording to the user's specifications. This includes allowing the userto assign values to each of the files, whether audio or digital, thatrepresent the subjective value of each file to the user. When the userfirst starts a collection of digital image files or audio files, he canchoose to assign a user-value to each file. Thereafter, as the user addsmore digital image and audio files, the user can be presented with theoption of assigning a user-value to each newly added file. Theuser-assigned values enable the user to influence the ranking of thefiles regardless of how frequently the user access or manipulates them.

Preferably step 44 also allows the user to tailor digital assetmanagement by modulating the volatility in the ranking of digitalassets. As discussed above, ranking of digital assets is dictated inpart by the frequency of the use of the assets. If the ranking is toosensitive to the frequency of use of the digital assets, the dramaticre-ranking of the digital assets may be disruptive to the user. The usercan set a minimum threshold score differential that must be exceededbefore one digital asset can be re-ranked ahead of a previously higherranked digital asset. Alternatively, the user can rely on a defaultthreshold setting.

In step 46, the user's activity is recorded with respect to the digitalimage and audio files. For example, for audio files this step includesrecording whether the user merely played back an audio file, or edited,shared, transported, or received the audio file. The invention allowsfor a distinction between these user-activities so that some activitiesimbue the audio file with a higher value than others. For example, theact of editing an audio file might generate a higher score for a digitalaudio file than simply playing back the file. For a digital image file,the act of sharing the file with another network device might generate ahigher score for that file than viewing or printing the image. Thedifferent user-activities associated with digital image files include,but are not limited to, editing, printing, sharing, viewing,transmitting and receiving. The relative values assigned to thedifferent user-activities are a matter of choice for the user and arenot critical to the invention.

In a preferred embodiment, the step 46 also includes recording thefrequency, recency, and total number of user-activities with respect tothe digital assets. The more recently the user viewed a digital image,the higher the score for that image would be. Likewise, the higher thefrequency or total number of viewings (or any other activity), thehigher the score for that digital image would be. The invention learnswhich digital assets are most important to the viewer based on theuser's interaction with the digital assets. For example, the user mightlisten to a song saved in an audio file with great frequency for a timebut then grow bored with it and subsequently rarely play it back. As theuser's frequency of access decreases, the score of the audio filedeclines.

In step 48 a decision is made whether to re-rank the digital imageand/or digital audio files based on their usage scores. FIG. 5 providesa simple example of a ranking decision according to the invention. Threedigital image files A, B, and C are shown. In this example, the act ofviewing is assigned a score of ten, the act of editing is assigned thescore of twenty, the act of printing is assigned the score of five andeach digital image file has a user-assigned personal score. Two separateuser sessions (1 and 2) are shown. In session 1, the user assigned imageA a personal score of seven, viewed image A three times, edited it fivetimes, and printed it once for a total score of 112. In session 1, forimage B the user assigned the image a personal score of six, viewed theimage twice, edited it once, and printed it three times for a score of91. For image C, in session 1 the user assigned the image a personalscore of five, viewed it twice, and printed it once for a score of 30.At the end of session 1, the ranking of the digital images is A followedby B, with C being ranked the lowest.

After session 2, image A had a score of 32, image B had a score of 91,and image C had a score of 35. Assuming the minimum threshold forre-ranking the digital image files is a score differential of at leastten points between two different image files in a given session, theranking after session 2 is B with a score of 91, A with a score of 32followed by C with a score of 35. In this example, for C to havesurpassed A in the rankings would have required image C to have scoredat least ten points higher than image A, or higher than 42. Image Bsurpassed image A in the rankings because its score of 91 exceeded thescore for image A by more than the ten-point minimum threshold. A simpleexample has been used here for illustrative purposes, but moresophisticated and well known score calculations and comparisons thataccount for frequency of use and total number of uses and recency of usecan be used to rank digital assets.

An access hierarchy is then formulated in step 50 from the rankings sothat the digital images are stored in such a manner that the highestranked images are more easily accessed than the lower ranked images. Inthe example shown in FIG. 5, the decision was made to re-rank thedigital image files because at least one digital image file (B) had asufficiently higher score than another previously higher ranked imagefile (A). If that were not the case, i.e. no image file had a score thatexceeded the score of a previously higher ranked digital image by theminimum threshold, then the decision would have been made not to re-rankthe digital image files, and the process would return to step 46 tocontinue recording the user's access to, and use of, the digital imagefiles.

In step 50, a new access hierarchy is created to store the higher rankeddigital image and/or audio files in a manner that makes them more easilyaccessed than the lower ranked digital image files, e.g. because oflatency due to access times, for example, to fast, local storage vs.remote archival storage. In the example shown in FIG. 5, only threeimages were discussed for the sake of simplicity. However, when manyimages are stored by a user it may become critical to reserve the mosteasily accessed data storage for the most highly valued images, whilestoring the less valued images in less accessible data storage.

Management of URL's in Web Navigation History

In another embodiment, the invention can be used as an alternative tothe “Favorites” list in Web browsers. As a user navigates through a Webbrowsing session a record of the navigation history is made. In additionto a simple list of URL's for Web sites visited, the history preferablyalso includes the frequency with which each Web site was visited, thetotal number of visits, the duration of each visit, and the amount oftime since the most recent visit to each Web site. The navigationhistory can further include a record of any Web sites from which datawas downloaded and whether that data were edited or shared by the user.

The URL management embodiment also allows the user to have some directinfluence on the ranking of digital assets by providing the user theoption to assign personal scores to each URL in the navigation history.If the user elects not to assign a personal score a default score may beassigned to a URL. In one embodiment, the user is provided with anoption to set a minimum differential threshold that must be exceeded fora re-ranking to occur. This feature enables the user to modulate thevolatility in the re-ranking process.

A simplified illustration of the URL management embodiment of theinvention is provided in FIG. 6. Three web sites A, B, and C areincluded in the Web navigation history. Two Web navigation sessions havebeen performed, session 1 and session 2. In session 1, Web site A wasvisited most recently one day ago and was visited at a frequency of fourtimes per day for an average duration of five minutes for each visit.Data downloaded from Website A was edited or shared once during session1. The user assigned the URL for Web site A a personal score of eight.The user-assigned personal score for each URL helps to determine aranking of the URL's.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the recency of a URL is factoredby assigning ten points for a Web site visit on the day of the ranking,eight points for a one-day period since the last visit, six points for atwo-day period since the last visit, four points for a three-day period,two points for a four-day period, and zero points for a five-day orgreater period since the last visit. The average duration of each visit,in minutes, is multiplied by a factor of two for each minute. Thus, anaverage duration of five minutes for a visit to a Web site wouldcontribute ten points to the score of the corresponding URL.

After Web navigation session 1, taking into account the recency,frequency, average duration of visits, whether data from the web siteswas edited or shared, and the user-assigned personal scores of the Websites, the ranking of the Web sites is as shown (total score inbrackets): Web site A (56), Web site B (31.5), and Web site C (29).

The notion of a Web navigation session in this context can be used todescribe a fixed period, for example one week or one day, at the end ofwhich the ranking of Web sites is performed. In one embodiment, if a URLhas not been activated within a predetermined period of time, forexample one month, that URL is removed from the list of ranked URLs.

It is well known that the Web browsing habits of users change over time.Some of this change is seasonal, i.e. a Web site for ski conditionswould not be accessed during the summer, and some of this has to do withtrends and fads that come and go. At the end of the Web browsing session2 in FIG. 6 it is evident that the user's Web browsing pattern haschanged significantly. For example, the frequency of visits to Web siteA decreased from four per day to 1.5 per day, whereas the frequency ofvisits to Web sites B and C increased from 0.5 per day to two per day,and one per day to five per day, respectively.

To modulate the volatility in the ranking of URL's in this embodiment ofthe invention, a volatility dampening procedure is provided. Unless thescore of at least one URL exceeds the score of another previously higherranked URL by a minimum threshold, the URL in the list is not re-ranked.In the example shown in FIG. 6, assuming the minimum threshold was afive point score differential, the URL's for Web sites A, B, and C isnot re-ranked because the score differential between Web site A (45.5)and web sites B and C (both 49) is less than five. This serves the userby preserving a certain amount of familiarity in the order of the list.If the minimum threshold is exceeded, the order of the URL's in the listis rearranged. The URL's can be presented to the user as a drop downmenu from a tool bar in the browser. In a preferred embodiment, the usercan adjust the minimum threshold according to the user's tolerance forre-ranking volatility.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 7. Users frequentlyemploy any number of different network devices in different navigationsessions. The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 allows the user to benefit fromthe invention regardless of which network device is used. In the step52, a navigation session history is created to reflect the URL'sactivated during a user's navigation session on a first network device.In addition to a simple list of activated URL's, the navigation historycan include such information as the recency, number and frequency ofaccess, whether the URL's were shared or transported, and the length oftime spent at each Web page. In another embodiment, the navigationhistory created in the step 52 can include an access hierarchy of URLs.The access hierarchy can be based on frequency, recency, type of use,e.g. whether a page accessed by the URL is edited or shared, whetherinformation is downloaded from the Web page, and the length of timespent at each Web page, as well as user assigned values provided for allor some of the URL's.

In the step 54, the navigation session history is saved to a commonlyaccessible location on a network. For example, with reference to FIG. 1,the navigation history can be saved to the server/router 16. In the step56, a second navigation session is initiated at a second network device,and in the step 58 the navigation session history is downloaded to thesecond network device. During the second navigation session a navigationsession history is once again created and recorded as in steps 42 and54. As discussed previously, a volatility dampening measure can beemployed to minimize volatility in re-ranking of URL's.

Although the invention is described herein with reference to thepreferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat other applications may be substituted for those set forth hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, the invention should only be limited by the Claims includedbelow.

1. A method for managing digital assets across a network, comprising thesteps of: providing at least one memory that is accessible to each of aplurality of devices associated with the network, wherein each of the atleast one memory has an access time associated therewith; monitoringinteractions with the digital assets by a user through at least one ofthe plurality of devices, to track the extent of use and specific typesof use of the digital assets by the user; ranking the digital assetsbased on the monitored interactions; and providing hierarchical storageof the ranked digital assets in the at least one memory based on theranking step, wherein highly ranked digital assets are accessed in lesstime from the at least one memory than lower ranked digital assets.2-21. (canceled)